Four Percent: The Story of Uncommon Youth in a Century of American Life (1st Edition)

Good book

This book made me proud to be one of the few to have achieved "the PhD of Boyhood." The contributions of Scouting to this country are immeasurable in value and, in today's increasingly progressive thinking, understated and under appreciated. The book does s great job in putting the history of Scouting in the context of U.S. History in the 20th and 21st centuries. It was also interesting to read about the achievements of so many great men that were defined by their trail to Eagle. I gave it 4 stars in spite of a few confusing typos and the lengthy writing in some areas but I attributed that to the pride and excitement of the author for the topic. I know had I written my about my own time in Scouting I would have written it with the same pride and attention to detail.

My son was recently awarded his Eagle Scout rank and this book puts the development of that rank and its significance in wonderful context. While we have been an active Scout family for many years, there are so many developments that I was unaware of until I read this book such as Irving Berlin donated the royalties of "God Bless America" to the Boys and Girls Scouts. I also did not fully appreciate how Boy Scouting grew as an integral part of the progressive era, nor did I realize that in 2009 and 2010 (latest years covered) Eagle projects accounted for over 10 MILLION volunteer hours in each year!This is the perfect gift to the family of any Eagle Scout whenever they earned it as well as anyone interested in Scouting. I am glad that it is now in hard cover format.

When I ordered Four Percent I thought I was going to read a book about things done by Eagle Scouts, what I got was one of the best histories of Scouting that I have ever read...and I have read many. I long the Scouting program and do my best to read all I can about it. Four Percent not only tells you of the history of the BSA but abut the lives of the Scouts that made that history. Excellent book and one every Scout should read. I will be giving it to my whole troop.

Read this for the reason as to why there is Hope for our country. For parents: it takes a push and tremendous support from you for your boy to become an Eagle; but it is truly something that will transform his life for the good. You will see a transformation before your eyes as he works through his project. A close friend, who has 4 Eagle sons, revealed his secret incentive for his sons: no Eagle, no driver's license. It worked for my soon-to-be Eagle son. He has recently thanked me and his mother for the "incentive" and said that he will have the same incentive for his sons.

I always enjoy a book on a topic I know allot about, but this book still had allot of history I did not know. After over twenty years in Scouting, being an Eagle Scout, having signed many Eagle Applications as a Scoutmaster for over eleven years, I thought I understood what the role of an Eagle Scout is. This is not just another book about famous Eagle Scouts, this book goes further. Mike Malone went further to enhanced my understanding why I and my other fellow Eagle Scouts are continuing to help others and how that advancement process shapes our thinking towards servant leadership.

As an Eagle scout this was a must for my library. This reference will be shared by many within my environment of influence. The evidence of history is too often neglected in this electronic age when our conduct sometimes needs to be grounded in the morality of the past. This book gives us a chance to base decisions on knowledge and experience and that is the foundation for building a life of value.

I bought this book because I myself am an Eagle Scout, as of 2012. One of our County Commissioner believes that the scouts are an amazing program, he attends most Eagle Scout ceremonies in the county, where he gets the boy and any other Eagle Scout to sign it with their autograph data variable there troop and where it was located. I loved his idea so much I started doing it myself. I've yet to read the book however was told by him that it was very good.